Following extensive testing including two full days of simulated skill and knowledge assessment, five Los Alamos Police officers have risen in rank.
Sergeants Jason Herrera and Preston Ballew have been promoted to the position of lieutenants.
They replace Lt. Scott Mills who transferred to the Albuquerque Police Department and Lt. Reggie Briggle who will retire early next year, Capt. Randy Foster said Tuesday.
Corporals Monica Salazar, James Rodriguez and Oliver Morris were promoted to the rank of sergeants.
“The testing that these officers went through validates that anyone who knows these fine individuals know how qualified they are and how deserving they are of these promotions,” Foster said.
Two sergeant positions were created with Herrera and Ballew moving up in rank.
The remaining position was created earlier this year following the retirement of Lt. Chuck Ney.
His lieutenant position was downgraded to a sergeant rank, which allows one of the new sergeants to be placed in charge of professional standards, training and certifications.
Now that the LAPD is state certified, specific standards must be maintained on a continual basis.
Police Chief Wayne Torpy developed a succession plan for his department when he took over as chief from a much larger police department in Florida.
“These officers really are the next generation of leadership for this department,” Torpy said. “I’m very pleased that we had such a good selection of candidates who came forward for testing and that we were able to advance what I consider to be the highest caliber of officers in this round of promotions.”